Dunedin craft chocolate maker OCHO is seeking voluntary liquidation with “no prospect of achieving future profitability under the current business model.”
Staff and shareholders have been notified that the company is “unable to trade out of its current financial situation.” A special meeting will be held on June 26 to consider and approve a resolution to appoint a liquidator.
“While OCHO Limited is currently solvent and can continue to trade for a short period of time, the new board hopes that winding up the company will present an opportunity for the business to be sold as a going concern,” OCHO Limited board chairman Pete Lead said in a statement.
“The best outcome for shareholders would be that the OCHO brand and its assets are bought by someone with a passion for craft chocolate and a desire to see chocolate making continue in Dunedin, although this is not guaranteed,” he added.
The decision was not made lightly, and OCHO’s 11 employees will continue to be paid until a liquidator is appointed.
In another statement, OCHO founder Liz Rowe expressed her sadness upon hearing of the board’s decision.
“The crowd funding in 2017 and the support from so many people who bought shares in OCHO was exciting and humbling.” she said.
“However, the company structure set up hasn’t proved to be the easiest model to work with. In essence, there was a big company structure being managed by a very small staff.”
“Combine that with a commitment to buy cocoa beans direct from the farmers and an uncompromising approach to making the best quality craft chocolate, and, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s not hard to see there were some challenges for the company from the start.”
OCHO was founded by Liz Rowe in 2013 as a small craft chocolate company and was relaunched after a $2 million crowdfunding campaign led by Jim O’Malley, following the announcement of Dunedin’s Cadbury factory closure in 2017.
OCHO has since struggled with profitability, despite another crowdfunding campaign launched in 2021.
According to reports, there are 3,738 shareholders and 27,806 shares on issue. The majority of shares were bought at $100 per share.